The Red Sox were reportedly targeting Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber in free agency, but they whiffed on both stars. Alonso landed with the rival Baltimore Orioles while Schwarber re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

As a result, FanSided’s Christopher Kline predicted the Red Sox would land a trade with the San Francisco Giants that would send prospect slugger Bryce Eldridge to the Red Sox.

“If the San Francisco Giants decide to trade Bryce Eldridge, their No. 1 prospect and a supremely talented offensive first baseman, the Boston Red Sox make the most sense,” Kline wrote. “He’d do an admirable job of plugging the hole left by Rafael Devers, ironically enough. Even in his brief 3-for-28 stint at the MLB level last season, Eldridge made a strong first impression with his 18.9 percent walk rate and 68.8 percent hard-hit rate. Small, noisy sample, but still — Eldridge is a beast.”

The Red Sox should have targeted Eldridge in the trade that sent Rafael Devers to the Giants. Eldridge would have been the best centerpiece to net in that trade.

But it’s too late to change that trade, so the Red Sox will need to dive back into the market to add the slugger. They could give up somebody like Jarren Duran in exchange for the Giants’ top prospect and then some.

Either way, the Red Sox would benefit quite a bit from adding such a talented young slugger to their lineup. His future would fit perfectly with the Red Sox’s World Series window.

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